Inside America: Essay #1

I anticipate a thoughtful reflection on how these three readings can be merged into a single essay written from a viewpoint that envelopes the concepts and substance contained in the readings, prior and ancillary readings, my lectures, and our discussions. Note that I will attempt to reply to this challenge myself in my lectures. In a sense, we are constructing our reply together.

I will explain and discuss this assignment in class. I will provide a synthesis of my own in lecture format over the next several classes, until the end of Part I on Feb. 22. Note the schedule.

Your essay of about 5 or 6 typed double-spaced pages (no smaller than 10 point font) will be assessed on these two criteria.

1. Depth: The richness of understanding conveyed.
2. Content: The substance contained, including the referencing of readings

Suggested Format

In class on March 1, I suggested and discussed a format to get you into the essay: Imagine a sustainable New Jersey. How would it differ from Edge City's Tomorrowland, affluent and apart, and from Wilson's depiction of the Jobless Ghetto? Use the booklet Living With the Future In Mind to develop your response. I depicted these steps:

1. Review the chapter from Edge City, Tomorrowland, set in New Jersey, and William Julius Wilson's chapter, From Institutional to Jobless Ghetto.
2. Examine the sustainability goals presented in Living With the Future In Mind. Carefully choose a subset of perhaps three goals that seem of special interest to you. Review the indicators.
3. Compare and contrast Edge City and the Jobless Ghetto with the sustainability goals. Use the indicators and the text describing the indicators. Ask how these realities match the goals for a sustainable New Jersey.
4. What steps would you consider to move toward sustainability in the long-term, twenty years or even more?

Feel free to use a theme of your own choosing, so long as it synthesizes the material, as indicated above. The essay is due by March 15.